Deep Sea 2003 Conference Reports

Includes the keynote addresses and papers presented on the conference themes that covered: environment, ecosystem biology, habitat, diversity and oceanography; population biology and resource assessment; harvesting and conservation strategies for resource management; technology requirements; monitoring, compliance and controls; a review of existing policies and instruments; and governance and management. It also provides the perspectives of participating experts and the conference Steering Committee. The general conclusions of the conference contain the elements that must be addressed and undertaken if deep-sea fish resources are to be sustained and their habitat protected to ensure productivity and safeguard deep-sea biodiversity. The second volume of the proceedings includes posters and corresponding papers presented at the conference as well as papers from workshops held prior to the main conference.

" The motivation for DEEP SEA 2003, an international conference on the government and management of deep-sea fisheries, was a realization by a number of states, intergovernmental organizations, industry groups and civil society organizations that, as a result of technological development and market demand, deepwater fisheries are being exploited at increasingly unsustainable levels ...".

Includes the keynote addresses and papers presented on the conference themes that covered: environment, ecosystem biology, habitat, diversity and oceanography; population biology and resource assessment; harvesting and conservation strategies for resource management; technology requirements; monitoring, compliance and controls; a review of existing policies and instruments; and governance and management. It also provides the perspectives of participating experts and the conference Steering Committee. The general conclusions of the conference contain the elements that must be addressed and undertaken if deep-sea fish resources are to be sustained and their habitat protected to ensure productivity and safeguard deep-sea biodiversity. The second volume of the proceedings includes posters and corresponding papers presented at the conference as well as papers from workshops held prior to the main conference.

This Expert Consultation was convened in order to address continuing global concerns regarding deep-sea fisheries in the high seas and build on outputs from previous conferences. The impetus for the consultation resulted from recommendations from the 26th COFI. Four main aspects of deep-sea fisheries in the high seas were focused on: the overall resource, management of the resource, legal issues, and high seas marine protected areas. The consultation sought to improve knowledge of management issues and constraints. Activities that build on this information will follow in 2007 and 2008. This document contains and overview of the meeting and the main conclusions and recommendations developed by the participants. In addition the four background papers that were commissioned for the consultation, as well as complimentary presentations and documents presented in Bangkok are included.

The deep ocean is by far the planet's largest biome and holds a wealth of potential natural assets. Human exploitation of the deep ocean is rapidly increasing whilst becoming more visible to many through the popular media, particularly film and television. The scientific literature of deep-sea exploitation and its effects has also rapidly expanded as a direct function of this increased national and global interest in exploitation of deep-sea resources, both biological (e.g. fisheries, genetic resources) and non-biological (e.g. minerals, oil, gas, methane hydrate). At the same time there is a growing interest in deep-sea contamination (including plastics), with many such studies featured in high profile scientific journals and covered by global media outlets. However, there is currently no comprehensive integration of this information in any form and these topics are only superficially covered in classic textbooks on deep-sea biology. This concise and accessible work provides an understanding of the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, both at the seafloor and in the water column, and how these might be affected as a result of human interaction, exploitation and, ultimately, environmental change. It follows a logical progression from geological and physical processes, ecology, biology, and biogeography, to exploitation, management, and conservation. Natural Capital and Exploitation of the Deep Ocean is aimed at marine biologists and ecologists, oceanographers, fisheries scientists and managers, fish biologists, environmental scientists, and conservation biologists. It will also be of relevance and use to a multi-disciplinary audience of fish and wildlife agencies, NGOs, and government departments involved in deep-sea conservation and management.

The goals of the expert consultation were to advise FAO on the development and implementation of a global record of fishing vessels and to respond to the request from FAO's Committee on Fisheries to further develop the concept as described in the feasibility study. A comprehensive global record, a potential additional tool to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, is envisioned as a global database gathering data from many sources in one location.--Publisher's description

In Filling Regulatory Gaps in High Seas Fisheries, author Yoshinobu Takei investigates the regime of high seas fisheries from the perspective of international law and considers whether there are regulatory gaps in high seas fisheries and, if so, how they should be filled. The book focuses on topical issues such as the management of deep-sea fisheries on the high seas and the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems. In view of the current state of marine fisheries resources, together with ecosystem concerns, swift and effective action is required to improve fisheries management, in particular for high seas fisheries. Takei thoroughly analyzes the current state of affairs and convincingly suggests steps to be taken in the future.